27. This is the story of the revolt.Solomon was filling in the land on the east side of Jerusalem and repairing the city walls.
28. Jeroboam was an able young man, and when Solomon noticed how hard he worked, he put him in charge of all the forced labour in the territory of the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim.
29. One day, as Jeroboam was travelling from Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah, from Shiloh, met him alone on the road in the open country.
30. Ahijah took off the new robe he was wearing, tore it into twelve pieces,
31. and said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, because the Lord, the God of Israel, says to you, ‘I am going to take the kingdom away from Solomon, and I will give you ten tribes.
32. Solomon will keep one tribe, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen to be my own from the whole land of Israel.
33. I am going to do this because Solomon has rejected me and has worshipped foreign gods: Astarte, the goddess of Sidon; Chemosh, the god of Moab; and Molech, the god of Ammon. Solomon has disobeyed me; he has done wrong, and has not kept my laws and commands as his father David did.
34. But I will not take the whole kingdom away from Solomon, and I will keep him in power as long as he lives. This I will do for the sake of my servant David, whom I chose and who obeyed my laws and commands.
35. I will take the kingdom away from Solomon's son and will give you ten tribes,
36. but I will let Solomon's son keep one tribe, so that I will always have a descendant of my servant David ruling in Jerusalem, the city I have chosen as the place where I am worshipped.
37. Jeroboam, I will make you king of Israel, and you will rule over all the territory that you want.